27 November 2017

The government is providing £6m over three years to the Open Data Institute (ODI) to advance knowledge and expertise in how data can shape the next generation of services and create economic growth. 

The funding, delivered through the government’s Innovate UK agency, will support a number of projects chosen by the institute to progress strategically important areas. These include building data infrastructure, improving data literacy, stimulating data innovation, and progressing the ethical use of data. 

In the first year of the programme, work will focus on creating economic and social benefits from data. Among some of the issues that the ODI is aiming to address is how businesses can make better decisions by capitalising on emerging trends such as AI, blockchain, and measures that provide greater control over personal data. It will also look at how data and technology innovation communities are nationally spread, and how this affects where government should invest and where businesses should establish themselves.

The studies and tools produced through the new programme of work will become practical assets that can be used and added to by others, to explore how data can and should work in our societies and economies.

“These new projects will advance our understanding of the opportunities data can bring as well as some of the pitfalls to avoid,” says ODI CEO Dr. Jeni Tennison.